Ukraine

NATO members are gathering for their 2014 summit in Wales this week, and tensions are higher than usual. Topics are expected to include Russia’s destabilization of Ukraine, the Syrian Civil War, Islamic militants, and even aggressive territorial claims by China. Just in time for the summit, Vago gathered an expert roundtable to preview the discussions on Defense News…

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will visit Ukraine Thursday for meetings with Petro Poroshenko, the country’s president, amid high tensions with Russia, who the alliance says is continuing to mass troops near the Ukrainian border. In addition to Poroshenko, Rasmussen is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatseniuk, Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin,…

Last Thursday, Russia’s deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted out a not-so-subtle jab at US President Barack Obama. We have different values and allies pic.twitter.com/aJ1312jJNx — Dmitry Rogozin (@DRogozin) July 31, 2014 It’s just the latest — if most animal-centric — shot fired on Rogozin’s english-language twitter feed, @DRogozin. (Defense News has been unable to determine why…

The US has sent the Ukrainian military 2,000 sets of body armor slated to arrive Wednesday, according to a Derek Chollet, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. “Those are badly needed,” Chollet said of the armor today during an event at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. The US has already said…

Two US Air Force B-2 stealth bombers arrived at RAF Fairford in England on Sunday for NATO exercises in Eastern Europe amid tensions with Russia. Ben Ramsay, an aviation enthusiast, posted an excellent, 8-minute video with rare close ups of the jets’ arrival at Fairford on Sunday. Below are some photos posted by the Air Force of the Spirit of Louisiana and Spirit of…

President Barack Obama will visit US Air Force airmen stationed at Łask Air Base during a his visit to Poland next week, the White House announced on Friday. The Air Force sent F-16 fighter jets to the base — which is about 100 miles southwest of Warsaw — in March following Russia’s invasion of Crimea. Obama will visit Łask on June 3 with Polish President Bronisław Komorowski, Ben…

To borrow one of President Obama’s favorite phrases, let me be clear: The United States government will not be sending offensive, or lethal, military equipment to Ukraine to assist in its standoff with Russia. That much became crystal clear on Tuesday.

Drawing down military forces in Europe sends the wrong signal to Eastern European nations, particularly as Russian forces have massed on Ukraine’s eastern border, former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says. In an interview with Military Times videographer Mike Morones, Gates discusses his past interactions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and what he believes are…

How long does Russian President Vladimir Putin intend to keep tens of thousands of military troops inside Crimea or camped out along his country’s border with Ukraine? A long time, according to a senior US lawmaker who says the Bear is hunkering down.